Espanyol and Levante are both involved in the race for European places, and there are no doubts there will be a lot at stake when the two sides meet at Cornella El Prat. Both teams have encountered a poor run of form and this will be a great opportunity for one of them to kick-start their season.

Consistent Espanyol

Espanyol have come a long way since Mauricio Pochettino took over the reigns in January 2009 as the Argentine boss transformed the team into genuine contenders for European places. Los Periquitos have been playing really well this season and they are currently tied on points with fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao, I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually secure a Champions League berth. Boasting a squad with the perfect blend of youth and experienced, Espanyol largely impressed in the first part of the season, although the team did experience some problems when key players Alvaro Vazquez and Sergio Garcia picked up serious injuries. The club management acted immediately and secured the signings of Coutinho, Uche and Victor Sanchez, and the new players helped the team keep their Champions League hopes alive. Espanyol ended the good run of results with a shock defeat to Real Zaragoza, but they quickly returned to the right track by bringing one point from Getafe, and I believe the hosts can be trusted to beat out-of-form Levante.

Thievy Bifouma misses out through suspension, whereas Javi Lopez is doubtful. Key midfielder Alvaro Vazquez is back, but Victor Sanchez, Javi Marquez, Walter Pandiani, Juan Albin and Sergio Garcia remain in the infirmary. Ernesto Galan is available after his red card was rescinded.

Levante on the downtrend

Levante started the season in brilliant fashion, having won seven straight La Liga games after the opening draws against Getafe and Racing Santander. Nevertheless, with the obvious lack of quality in the side it was only a matter of time before los Granotas started slipping down the La Liga standings, and the team are now in a position to fear for their La Liga status. Levante have now won just 2 of their last 14 league games, and they picked up just three points from last eight. That clearly shows that los Granotas are all over the place at the moment, as witnessed by the 5-3 home defeat to relegation strugglers Rayo Vallecano. This latest run of results is only proving that Levante do not have the quality to match the top table sides and I just cannot see how they are going to stop Espanyol from winning this game.

Asier del Horno is suspended, whereas Juanlu Gomez is still few weeks away from making his return into action.

Verdict

Espanyol are a real force to be reckoned with at their Cornella El Prat and this game should prove that the home defeat to Zaragoza was nothing more than a one-off result. Levante are winless in last eight games and that run is highly unlikely to end in Barcelona.

Our prediction: Home win

Odds: 1.80 (4/5)

Bookmaker: Stan James